‘The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
That Prolific Jersey Acre 
TOn pas:*' 401 \\ illimu Parkins fold of tin* work lie 
has been doing on an acre of good land in Central New 
Jersey. Our people have asked for a few more details, 
and so Mr. Perkins writes the following :1 
CONGENIAL JOB.—My article in The R. N.-Y. 
of March 18 on “An Acre Under Intensive 
Cultivation’’ is causing so much comment, good and 
otherwise, that perhaps a few more words in addi¬ 
tion would not he amiss. The old saying. “If you 
want to make a success in the chicken business, yon 
must live with your chickens," is just as true in any 
other business, and the success I have had in gar¬ 
dening I attribute mostly to the love of outdoor life 
and making things grow. When Spring is approach 
ing I simply "hanker” to get out and at it, not so 
much for the dollars that are in it. but for the joy 
it gives me in the work. 
ESSENTIAL NEEDS.—There are four essential 
things for successful gardening: flood seed, good 
cultivation, good fertilization and last. Imt not least, 
good head work. In the cut on page 401 you will 
notice I have the Skinner system of irrigation. 
While this helps materially in a dry season to germ¬ 
inate my spinach and lettuce seeds in July and 
August, when we very often have a long dry spell, 
and starts my celery and lettuce plants after trans¬ 
planting, T do not rely on this entirely, for my 
experience has been that a well-tilled soil will give 
the best results. Some of my friends have said 
there must he some “trick" in the business that they 
do not understand. Absolutely no: just good com¬ 
mon horse sense is the essential thing. As a general 
tiling I stick to the variety of vegetables that I have 
tested and found the best. Every year I test some 
new kinds that are recommended very highly, hut 
do not discard the kind I have been growing, unless 
the new proves the better. 
WHOLESALE MARKETING. — The amount of 
produce marketed in 1920 ($1,034.88 i was sold at 
wholesale prices. When I first began gardening I 
sold my produce at retail, but soon found it paid 
better to sell it to the stores, as I could dispose of 
my load much more quickly and get back home to 
my work again before the heat <>f the day. I always 
engaged one day the amount needed for the next 
day, so there is no loss of time in running around 
from one store to another to try to .--oil my load. 
Another important thing is that my prices are cash. 
I have no hook accounts to collect, which is almost 
impossible to avoid if you sell at retail. A number 
of my friends and neighbors come to my place and 
purchase plants and vegetables at nearly the whole¬ 
sale price. 
SUNDAY WORK.—Some folks think that the 
vegetable and berry business cannot be made a suc¬ 
cess unless you work seven days a week. Well, I 
am just old-fashioned enough to believe that the 
Ten Commandments were meant for me as for the 
Israelites, and when the Lord says. “Six days shalt 
thou labor and do all that thou hast to do." I am 
going to obey. A friend told me I would have to 
pick my strawberries on Sunday or I would lose 
them. In 18^3 I set a half acre of strawberry 
plants. On the 11th of June. 1893 (Sunday), my 
patch was loaded with the finest ripe berries I ever 
saw. Coming home from church that night a heavy 
shower came up out of the west, and I said to my 
wife. "If that ever strikes our berry patch she's a 
goner." but the shower rolled away to the north, 
and we never got a drop of rain. The next day we 
picked 7r>0 quarts of berries off that half acre, which 
sold for $105.97. I suppose some of my 
readers will say that was just luck, 
but they would have a hard time try¬ 
ing to make me believe it. But l fear 
I am digressing, and will get hack to 
my text. 
C<JNOENTRATION NEEDED.—Most 
of the truckers I know make a mistake 
trying to work too much ground. In 
my opinion two or three acres worked 
and well fertilized will yield more and 
better produce than 10 acres half 
worked and without the proper amount 
of plant food. 1 do not put manure or 
fertilizer in hill or row, hut broadcast 
it after plowing, and harrow it in. 
The roots of the plants will find it. 
and there is a more even growth when 
it is thoroughly mixed with the soil, 
and will give much better results if 
the season is hot and dry. 
TRANSPLANT ING.—In tra implant¬ 
ing plants from the cold frame to open 
ground see that they are well hardened. 
To do this remove the sash for several 
nights, so they will get acclimated. A 
splendid plant business can soon he established in 
any community, and when your reputation is known 
for fine plants true to name it is almost impossible 
to grow enough to meet the demand. I have sold 
$;;o worth of pepper plants off a space 6 ft. square 
covered with two hotbed sash. These plants were 
pulled out of the seed bed without transplanting. 
POPULAR VARIETIES.—I grow the kind of 
vegetables the market demands. For instance no 
A Big Funjloirer in Dutchess Co.. X. V. Fig. 27} 
variety of celery will sell as well in my market as 
the Golden Self-blanching, while I prefer a different 
laud for my own table, and so with other kinds. 
No matter what I consider the best for our own use, 
I have found it the best policy to give the public 
what it demands. I always have my vegetables put 
up in the most attractive manner, for nothing at¬ 
tracts the eyes of a purchaser so quickly as a neat, 
clean article of any sort. william perkixs. 
New Jersey. 
Dandelions as a Cultivated Crop 
I N some parts of the country, particularly New 
England, dandelions are grown by market gar¬ 
deners, some of whom have several acres in this 
crop. Printed directions usually call for planting 
dandelion seed in April or May. but New England 
growers often wait until July or early August, so 
that they can use the ground from which peas have 
been removed. A light, loamy soil usually gives 
the best results, and it is not necessary to dress 
heavily with manure. It is a common practice to 
sow the seed with a hand drill in rows a foot 
635 
apart. The plants are then thinned so as to stand 
about a foot apart in the rows. It pays to roll the 
ground after seeding, unless there is plenty of 
moisture in the soil, as dandelions are rather slow 
to germinate. 
Lettuce seed is sometimes sown with dandelion 
seed at the rate of an ounce to the acre, the pur¬ 
pose being to mark the rows for cultivation. The 
young dandelion plants themselves are very hard 
to see when they first come up. Cultivation is 
required for only a few weeks, as the plants soon 
completely cover the ground and keep down the 
weeds by their own shade. Hay or straw is com¬ 
monly used to cover the dandelions when freezing 
weather comes, although they will often go through 
without any protection. Spring dandelions usually 
sell for from 50 cents to $1 a bushel. It is neces¬ 
sary to wash them carefully and to trim off a por¬ 
tion of the roots. 
Dandelions are often forced under hotbed sash 
which are carried to the fields and placed in double 
rows. There is a small demand for the dried roots 
of dandelions, which are used for medicine and in 
the making of coffee substitutes. Special varieties, 
particularly Thick Leaved French, are commonly 
chosen by market gardeners, as they are larger 
and better flavored than the wild dandelions. Seeds 
of these varieties are sold by several seedsmen. 
e. i. P. 
Sudan Grass; Its Behavior in Ohio 
s 
F OUR cuttings of grass in one farmer's experience 
was desirable pasture, and good cutting: in 
another farmer's experience, and in the experience 
of a third, an excellent green feed, are reports given 
of Sudan grass by practical farmers. One farmer 
fed both green corn and Sudan grass. He states 
the cows ate the Sudan grass first, afterward the 
green corn. Another farmer contends it is the next 
best hog pasture, Alfalfa ranking first. Sudan grass 
ranks about the same as Timothy in feeding value. 
In 20 or 30 days on good ground Sudan grass will 
make sufficient growth to afford pasture, circum¬ 
stances being favorable. In 45 to 00 days the first 
cutting is ready. After cutting it grows rapidly, 
and the writer saw a farmer making the fourth 
cutting October 10. This was planted on sandy 
ground near Conneaut. Ohio, about May 15. Sudan 
grass hay cures quite rapidly. It grows well in dry 
soil, having evolved under hostile and adverse con¬ 
ditions in the African Sudan. 
One Ohio farmer who has used a mixture of Soy 
beans and Sudan grass for hay declares he is par¬ 
ticularly well pleased with the combination and will 
depend in considerable measure on this combination. 
This combination is not suitable for only good 
ground, and perhaps the Virginia. Wilson or some 
vigorous growing bean are particularly desirable-. 
The rate of seeding is about 15 or 20 lbs. of Sudan 
grass and about a bushel of Soy beans per acre. 
Sudan grass should not be planted until the soil 
is quite warm, perhaps at corn planting or a week 
or 10 days later. A well packed seed bed is neces¬ 
sary. Ground should he as good as for corn, and it 
is advisable to use at least 200 lbs. of a high-grade 
fertilizer, or in any event as much as this of acid 
phosphate. Sudan grass will outyield millet under 
similar conditions, and a phenomenal yield was 
secured at Chico. Cal., under irrigation, eight tons 
per acre. However, two tons is a fair statement of 
yield under favorable conditions. One cutting and 
pasture would be a satisfactory yield 
in the North. For pasture one Ohio 
farmer states he kept over 150 sheep 
and lambs for more than 30 days on 
five acres of pasture, three acres being 
Sudan grass well started. He after¬ 
ward secured a fair hay crop. It 
should maintain a cow to the acre as 
pasture for several months. Sudan 
grass makes silage comparing favor¬ 
ably with corn silage in analysis, but 
will not supplant corn silage, except in 
certain regions. In pasturing there is 
comparatively lirtle trouble from prus- 
aeid poisoning, and no eases have 
been reported from the South. Sudan 
grass lias heretofore been planted in 
and this practice will prevail in 
seed production centers in the semi- 
arid regions of the West. Seed is suf¬ 
ficiently cheap and available so that it 
may be drilled at the rate of 20, 30 and 
even 40 lbs. per acre. Prevailing price 
ranges from 6 to 8 cents per lb. Seed 
should he planted 1 or 2 in. deep. 
Ohio. w. j. 
